When I first moved out and got cable, I was unsure of having so many channels. You know, doesn't matter how many channels, there's still never anything on?
Well.
Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find "Coco Avant Chanel" on TV, both before AND after I went out to do patriotic, 4th of July-ish things. It's a (subtitled) movie that shows the humble beginnings and rise to fashionable fame of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, played by Audrey Tautou. Some of you may recognize her if you've seen The DaVinci Code or Amélie. Definitely worth watching!
Earlier, I found a show about Stonehenge, which obviously threw me into a planning frenzy for my trip. I've already booked a ticket into the Tower of London for Tuesday (wooooo!), and I'm going to seriously consider the Stonehenge thing as soon as I finish this post, which was inspired by...
the fact that I found "Les quatre cents coups", aka "The 400 Blows" on TV tonight! I have to admit, French New Wave cinema doesn't really speak to me, but it's exciting to find it on TV nonetheless. The movie is about a young French boy who is thought to be a troublemaker by his parents and teachers. It was extremely well received in France, and was even nominated for an Academy Award in 1960, for Best Writing. Check it out!
So you see, the only thing it takes to distract me is something, anything French!
05 July 2013
03 July 2013
Au revoir, Monsieur le Roi
Cou cou mes chers et chères! Ça fait longtemps! (What's up darlings, it's been a while!)
Saw my little cousin get married this past weekend in KY, which was a blast. My aunt left a sweet gift basket in my parents' hotel room, and what was in it? French cookies, made in France and everything. My other cousin and I went shopping and strolled through Anthropologie (um, French word, thanks) and found a few French-y things. There was also a pretty spectacular POP-UP version of Le Petit Prince, although it was in English. Unabridged version though, which I found to be excellent. *coughChristmaspresentcough*
I am here with some notable news today - firstly, that I have apparently missed the start of the Tour de France this year! Can we excuse that lapse based on the fact that the start of the Tour also was the day my cousin got married! I was a little distracted, non? Anyway, you can check out the various stages of the Tour and everything Tour related here. Have no fear, it's the link to the English version of the page. Today is Stage 5, which seems to be ending in Marseille. Stage 6 goes from Aix-En-Provence to Montpellier, passing right through the town where my host mom was born! As a matter of fact, she and my host brother are there now - SO lucky. Stage 11 will go from Avranches (where my friend Kate used to live and teach) to le Mont-Saint-Michel (which I will be visiting again next year on our 9-day French trip!). That stage would be worth checking up on! And of course there's stage 21, the final stage that goes from Versailles to Paris and ends in loop upon loop up and down the Champs-Elysées. Watch for the French countryside, watch because it's a French tradition...and, if nothing else, just watch to see if anyone crashes.
On to the next story...while browsing facebook this morning, I found this story from Belgium (warning: the news article you may be about to read is in French!) about the king abdicating! The story didn't have too many details about what's going to happen next...but wow! If you're asking why I'm posting about Belgium, here's your fun fact for the day: French is one of the official languages of Belgium, along with Dutch and German, with almost 40% of the population being native French speakers. As I write this, I'm realizing that the big announcement about the king stepping down will happen in about 45 minutes, so maybe there will be some more news coming after that.
You can also get ready for a post or two about me prepping for an overseas trip because I will be leaving on Monday!! Can't believe it's already almost here, that one of my best friends is getting married next weekend, and that I'll be in France 2 weeks from right now! As I pack and stress and try to decide what goes and what stays, I'm going to try to get a post up that details what you should pack, what you should leave at home, and how overly prepared I might end up being for this trip. I have developed a process, you could say, that I use to prepare for whirlwind trips like this. All I can say now is...don't judge me, please. À très vite!
Saw my little cousin get married this past weekend in KY, which was a blast. My aunt left a sweet gift basket in my parents' hotel room, and what was in it? French cookies, made in France and everything. My other cousin and I went shopping and strolled through Anthropologie (um, French word, thanks) and found a few French-y things. There was also a pretty spectacular POP-UP version of Le Petit Prince, although it was in English. Unabridged version though, which I found to be excellent. *coughChristmaspresentcough*
I am here with some notable news today - firstly, that I have apparently missed the start of the Tour de France this year! Can we excuse that lapse based on the fact that the start of the Tour also was the day my cousin got married! I was a little distracted, non? Anyway, you can check out the various stages of the Tour and everything Tour related here. Have no fear, it's the link to the English version of the page. Today is Stage 5, which seems to be ending in Marseille. Stage 6 goes from Aix-En-Provence to Montpellier, passing right through the town where my host mom was born! As a matter of fact, she and my host brother are there now - SO lucky. Stage 11 will go from Avranches (where my friend Kate used to live and teach) to le Mont-Saint-Michel (which I will be visiting again next year on our 9-day French trip!). That stage would be worth checking up on! And of course there's stage 21, the final stage that goes from Versailles to Paris and ends in loop upon loop up and down the Champs-Elysées. Watch for the French countryside, watch because it's a French tradition...and, if nothing else, just watch to see if anyone crashes.
On to the next story...while browsing facebook this morning, I found this story from Belgium (warning: the news article you may be about to read is in French!) about the king abdicating! The story didn't have too many details about what's going to happen next...but wow! If you're asking why I'm posting about Belgium, here's your fun fact for the day: French is one of the official languages of Belgium, along with Dutch and German, with almost 40% of the population being native French speakers. As I write this, I'm realizing that the big announcement about the king stepping down will happen in about 45 minutes, so maybe there will be some more news coming after that.
You can also get ready for a post or two about me prepping for an overseas trip because I will be leaving on Monday!! Can't believe it's already almost here, that one of my best friends is getting married next weekend, and that I'll be in France 2 weeks from right now! As I pack and stress and try to decide what goes and what stays, I'm going to try to get a post up that details what you should pack, what you should leave at home, and how overly prepared I might end up being for this trip. I have developed a process, you could say, that I use to prepare for whirlwind trips like this. All I can say now is...don't judge me, please. À très vite!
21 June 2013
Fête de la Musique!
Today is the Fête de la Musique, begun in France in 1982 and now celebrated in cities around the world (in 110 countries, per Wikipedia...I know, I know, but this isn't a research paper!). Several of my friends are enjoying free performances in cities all over France today, and there is even a Fête de la Musique concert at the Summer Stage in Central Park, NYC today featuring the French hip-hop group IAM. Apparently, according to the e-mail I received from the NY French Embassy, IAM formed in Marseille in 1988, they have a new album coming out this year, and they have a long history of collaborations with the Wu-Tang Clan. Who knew? Here's one of their songs, performed live in Egypt:
I've never been to a Fête de la Musique concert, so there's one more thing to add to my list of Things To Do Before I Die. Joyeuse fête, crank some tunes in honor of the day!
I've never been to a Fête de la Musique concert, so there's one more thing to add to my list of Things To Do Before I Die. Joyeuse fête, crank some tunes in honor of the day!
19 June 2013
Vivement les vacances!
C'est magnifique, summer vacation started today! Now I can officially start to obsess over my travel plans for the summer, most importantly the trip that will begin in 19 days! Wait....only 19 days?! I've got a lot to plan (more on that later).
Today I was browsing Pinterest and noticed that my cousin posted a picture of Stonehenge on her "places travelled" board...and it got me thinking. So a quick Google search later, not only had I realized that Stonehenge is within manageable day-trip distance of London, but I had also discovered a tour group that offers day trips to Stonehenge (and Windsor and Bath too!). So now I'm seriously considered squeezing that into an already pretty packed 2.5 weeks. Stay tuned!
Anyway, since the sun is (finally) out here, I'm gonna post a few of my old photos of sunny travel moments. Here's hoping that I have good weather while I'm gone! England may pose a problem, so everyone keep your fingers crossed for sunshine....especially for my friend's wedding!
Today I was browsing Pinterest and noticed that my cousin posted a picture of Stonehenge on her "places travelled" board...and it got me thinking. So a quick Google search later, not only had I realized that Stonehenge is within manageable day-trip distance of London, but I had also discovered a tour group that offers day trips to Stonehenge (and Windsor and Bath too!). So now I'm seriously considered squeezing that into an already pretty packed 2.5 weeks. Stay tuned!
Anyway, since the sun is (finally) out here, I'm gonna post a few of my old photos of sunny travel moments. Here's hoping that I have good weather while I'm gone! England may pose a problem, so everyone keep your fingers crossed for sunshine....especially for my friend's wedding!
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| Tower Bridge, London |
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| Petite France, Strasbourg |
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| Chateau de Haut Koenigsbourg |
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| Point du Hoc, Normandy |
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| le Mont-Saint-Michel |
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| Chateau de Chenonceau |
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| Notre Dame de Paris |
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| la Tour Eiffel, au couché du soleil |
And the pièce de résistance....one of my favorite places on Earth. À la prochaine!
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| Panorama de Strasbourg, vu du Barrage Vauban (seen from the Barrage Vauban) |
14 June 2013
Secret dinners in Paris, oh my!
I saw this link on facebook last night, check out the article to see where this year's "Diner en Blanc" was held!
http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/06/13/diner-en-blanc-the-film-about-the-worlds-largest-secret-dinner-party/
Off now for our last Friday of school this year, only 2 more days left! Then it's time to start prepping for my trip!
http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/06/13/diner-en-blanc-the-film-about-the-worlds-largest-secret-dinner-party/
Off now for our last Friday of school this year, only 2 more days left! Then it's time to start prepping for my trip!
12 June 2013
Bienvenue!
Bonjour! Ça va?
Welcome to the Adventures of the Traveling French Teacher! Being a French teacher means that I travel to France whenever I can, and daydream about traveling to France the rest of the time. Well, most of the rest of the time. Truth is that traveling is something that I love to do, whether the destination is France or not. I've been lucky enough so far to travel to 28 different countries, and I'm hoping to be able to make it 30 countries by the time I'm 30. After that, we'll see!
So this is the goal for my blog: to show you guys what traveling in France is like, what daydreaming about traveling to France is like, and what traveling is like in general, wherever you're going. So stay tuned this summer for my trip to England, France, Scotland and Iceland - I'll try to include plenty of stories, photos, and possibly some videos...I will also take your questions and do my best to give you some answers. Then when I'm not traveling, I would like to continue to use this blog as a way to keep us all caught up on French culture. Next summer, I also hope to use the blog during our 9-day trip to France with students from Buena and Millville, to show you all what we get up to!
I hope that you'll all keep checking back this summer, and feel free to write comments, ask questions, and tell me what you'd like to see on the blog. So, until then, à très bientôt!
Welcome to the Adventures of the Traveling French Teacher! Being a French teacher means that I travel to France whenever I can, and daydream about traveling to France the rest of the time. Well, most of the rest of the time. Truth is that traveling is something that I love to do, whether the destination is France or not. I've been lucky enough so far to travel to 28 different countries, and I'm hoping to be able to make it 30 countries by the time I'm 30. After that, we'll see!
So this is the goal for my blog: to show you guys what traveling in France is like, what daydreaming about traveling to France is like, and what traveling is like in general, wherever you're going. So stay tuned this summer for my trip to England, France, Scotland and Iceland - I'll try to include plenty of stories, photos, and possibly some videos...I will also take your questions and do my best to give you some answers. Then when I'm not traveling, I would like to continue to use this blog as a way to keep us all caught up on French culture. Next summer, I also hope to use the blog during our 9-day trip to France with students from Buena and Millville, to show you all what we get up to!
I hope that you'll all keep checking back this summer, and feel free to write comments, ask questions, and tell me what you'd like to see on the blog. So, until then, à très bientôt!
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